C&T Publishing is so kind and sends me review copies of some of their quilting publications. They come as ebook versions and I have loved taking a little time before bed and “paging” through them. Recently I checked out a copy of Finders Keepers Quilts by Edie McGinnis with Susan Knapp.
The book was really a fun read…and a fun look. You know how I love old houses and even appreciate run down houses after all we have salvaged items from old houses in our house….(remember us ripping out the flooring from one house and the woodwork from another?) Time and time again as I drive by run down abandon farm houses I can’t help but wonder…does the house have wood work that would match mine? Does the house have the newel post caps that I need to finish my stairs? Does the house have neat old wainscoting cupboards that someone is just going to burn? These thoughts are especially sharp in my mind after our upper kitchen cabinets were saved from a house that was torn down just days after the salvage guys removed them.
Needless to say, it’s always been my dream to walk through abandoned houses and salvage things…My dreams have been about woodwork and cabinets. I never dreamed a person could salvage quilts from an abandoned house but that’s exactly what these authors did. Here’s the description of the book from C&T, “Finders Keepers Quilts is based on a collection of quilts found in an abandoned farmhouse in Davis County, Iowa. Searching through the house, the new owner, Susan Knapp, found stone crocks, pretty dishes, and other intriguing little odds and ends. But best of all, she found a box of early 1900s quilts in a closet. Famed quilter Edie McGinnis has worked with Susan to re-create the early quilts, using reproduction fabric to reflect the time period in which they were made. She has also included an updated version of each quilt, with clear, concise instructions that will appeal to today’s modern quilters.”
After reading that I thought-ya…the quilts must be yucky if someone just abandoned them. BUT THEY ARE NOT!
I love this one….
This one is nice too.
There are MANY more quilt in book. All show the original quilt-a reproduction of it and a new modern version. It’s fun.
All in all it was really a nice book that was put together very professionally. I love the photography and loved the quilts too. I think I mostly loved reading about the adventure of finding the quilts and seeing the pictures of the interior of the old house. It still amazes me that they were found.
Neat story and neat book..but darn I wish I had been a part of it all!
What a neat book. I wish I had been a part of it, too!
Take care.